Because football is played only once a week, it is the most spontaneous of all sports. Emotions and outlooks change with each game because college football fans live or die Saturday to Saturday. Unfortunately for Florida State fans, the 2024 season may suddenly look bleak after the 21-24 loss to Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland. But the sky isn’t necessarily falling in Tallahassee due to the new college football playoff format.

Yes, the Seminoles will disappear from CFP projections and discussions for now. That’s the punishment teams suffer when they lose a nationally televised game to a 10.5-point underdog.

However, FSU still has plenty of time to get back into the playoff conversation. That’s the advantage of losing early in the season rather than in November.

Remember, many teams have suffered losses early in the season only to rise again at the national level. Last season, for example, Oklahoma State lost a home game to South Alabama 33-7 before rebounding to go 9-3 in the regular season (7-2 in Big 12 play) and reach the Big 12 Championship Game.

And what about the 2014 Ohio State Buckeyes? Starting the year ranked No. 5 nationally, they lost their first home game of the season to an unranked Virginia Tech team. Despite this, the Buckeyes went on to win the national championship that year in the first edition of the four-team playoff format.

Even the Florida State team that played for the 1999 BCS National Championship in the 1998 Fiesta Bowl suffered early season setbacks. That year, Bobby Bowden’s No. 2 ranked team fell to unranked NC State 24-7 in the second game of the season. The Seminoles didn’t lose again, however, until they faced Tennessee in the final game of the season.

The good news is that the Seminoles still have a chance to get back into the playoffs. Although the loss to Georgia Tech makes winning the ACC more difficult, a conference championship will still put Mike Norvell’s team in the playoffs, and that was the goal from the beginning of the season.

According to ESPN.com’s Matchup Predictor, FSU is currently favored in all remaining games this season, except for the Nov. 9 game at No. 7 Notre Dame. So if the Seminoles can recover and get their act together, they’ll likely be playing in the ACC championship game with a spot in the CFP on the line.

Of course, Norvell has to find a way for his team to improve on Saturday’s performance. He admitted that after the loss.

“We have to take a step forward as a football team,” he said, “and not let this one game determine the outcome of our season. We can react, and in a week we’ll play another ACC opponent, and we have to improve.”

Yes, FSU fans should be disappointed by what happened in Dublin. But a three-point loss to a secretly good Georgia Tech team isn’t the end of the world.

There are still plenty of opportunities for the Noles to score some impressive wins against big-name teams like Clemson, Miami, Notre Dame and Florida, while also defeating some lesser-known teams like SMU and Memphis, both of which could be ranked in the top 10 at the end of the season.

So breathe easy, FSU fans. It’s going to be OK. Yes, this loss will sting for a while, and yes, your program will be the butt of many jokes this week (especially QB DJ Uiagalelei).

However, the 2024 college football season promises unprecedented opportunities. That’s great news for the Seminoles, because a loss will no longer end the hopes of a national championship contender, regardless of how many Chicken Littles are currently running around North Florida.